Jets insist they're ready for Texans

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Old habits die hard. Just ask Rex Ryan, who used the word "guarantee" while speaking with the media this past week.

J.P. Pelzman

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Old habits die hard. Just ask Rex Ryan, who used the word "guarantee" while speaking with the media this past week.

Of course, it wasn't quite a vintage Ryan guarantee.

"I guarantee you the effort will be there," Ryan said of the Jets, who will host Houston on Monday night.

It's easy to see why that quote didn't crash Twitter. Then again, maybe it's important for Ryan to say that, given how San Francisco cornerback Carlos Rogers accused the Jets' defense of quitting in the latter stages of the 49ers' 34-0 blowout victory last week.

Not surprisingly, that quote found its way into defensive coordinator Mike Pettine's presentation to his charges at a Wednesday meeting, and he said there was silence in the room.

"I don't think that you could say that anybody quit," Pettine said. "I know we got worn down, probably just as much emotionally as we were physically. I just think it was the fact that it was put out there, I think it was good our guys got to see that."

Pettine added it means more "to have a peer say it. "» If it's being perceived as this, than we need to take action."

Motivation certainly is something that is being emphasized even more than usual by Ryan and his assistants, considering the Jets are facing the rest of the season without their biggest game-changers on defense (Darrelle Revis) and offense (Santonio Holmes) because of injury.

So Ryan already is dipping into his emotional reservoir, reminding everyone that in his first season as Jets coach, his team recovered from a 4-6 record to make the playoffs as a wild card, eventually reaching the AFC title game.

"You talk about how resilient this football team is," Ryan said, "you do go back in the past and there are some things to prove it. (We were) the only team in National Football League history to overcome two three-game losing streaks and make the playoffs (in 2009). There are things that you can lean on. Lose two players, you're still able to" go to the postseason.

Ryan "knows that everybody is going to step up," defensive end Mike DeVito said. "We've done it in the past."

"That's what good teams do," running back Shonn Greene said.

Ryan also has gotten through to relative newcomers such as Tim Tebow.

Ryan "believes in his players, his system and his scheme," Tebow said. "I think that's great. He really is someone that exudes a lot of confidence in his players and his coaches."

Besides the rah-rah, Ryan also is trying to tweak the Jets' preparation. In an attempt to improve their woeful performance in running the ball and defending against the run, he added an eight-minute session to Thursday's practice in which the offensive starters ran base rushing plays against the first-string defenders. Ryan asked his staff for suggestions, and that one was the idea of offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo.

"So we put (the) guys out there," Ryan said, "and just put the ball down and said, 'Let's have at it.' It was all runs, one play-action pass in there and everyone knows it's coming. I challenged our guys to really compete against each other, and the only way to get better is when you go full-speed on each other."

They will discover how much this helped when they line up against Houston and star running back Arian Foster tonight.

The Texans "are going to get our best. I can promise you that," Ryan said, giving another of his new low-key guarantees.